the great gatsby

the great gatsby

"The Great Gatsby" was a 1925 novel by F. Scott Fitzgerald. Set in Long Island and New York City, the novel revolves around Jay Gatsby, a young, ambitious millionaire who hosts extravagant parties each Saturday night. Nick Carraway, the book's narrator lives next door to him in West Egg, Long Island. Across the bay in the more established East Egg, Daisy and Thom Buchanan, Nick's cousin and classmate, respectively, invite him to dinner at their mansion. There, Nick meets Jordan Baker, with whom he starts a relationship. He learns from Jordan that Tom has a mistress, Myrtle, who lives in a poor neighborhood known as "the valley of ashes."

When Nick gets an invitation to one of Gatsby's parties, he encounters Jordan there. Both of them meet Gatsby, who later talks to Jordan alone. Through Jordan, Nick learns Gatsby fell in love with Daisy when they were both in Louisville and he is still in love with her. Gatsby asks Nick to arrange a meeting between them. He invites Daisy to tea at his house without telling her he also invited Gatsby. Eventually, they start an affair.

Fitzgerald started writing the book in 1923. He based the new-money town of West Egg on his home town of Great Neck, Long Island, while basing the old-money East Egg on town of Manhasset, across the bay. During the writing, he and his wife moved to the French Riviera. He finished the book in early 1925. While it was well-reviewed, it was not a huge commercial success. After Fitzgerald's death in 1940 at age 44, his obituary in the New York Times called it an indicator of his unfulfilled potential. The book rose in popularity after that and established the book's as one of the Great American Novels.

The book was adapted into three theatrical films and a made-for-TV movie. The first, a 1926 silent film that starred Warner Baxter and William Powell, is lost forever. The first sound version, released in 1949, starred Alan Ladd, Betty Field and Shelley Winters. It exists, but it s not readily available. A 1974 remake starred Robert Redford and Mia Farrow, while a 2000 made-for-TV version starred Toby Stephens, Paul Rudd and Mira Sorvino. Another remake is scheduled for theatrical release in 2012.